[Note: The following article is an excerpt from my newest book, The Coming Millennial Kingdom, published by Harvest House Publishers in June 2025.]
If a kingdom bears the reflection of the one or ones who rule over it, then the kingdom of Christ certainly emulates the divinity of its Davidic King. The book of Isaiah especially does great justice in describing the righteous character of its monarch:
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isaiah 9:6-7).
In this passage, the Son of God is identified as the ultimate head over all government during His kingdom reign. He will utter wonderful and consoling words to His subjects. As the Son rules righteously from the throne of David, His awesome power will ensure a peaceful regime. Such universal world peace presupposes a universal recognition of God and willful subjection to His judgment.1 But for those who choose to disobey His moral law, Christ will bring about swift judgment, but all in perfect justice, for He will rule with great zeal and attention over His hosts.
In commenting on Isaiah 9, Martin Luther concluded that when righteousness defines such a kingdom it will naturally conquer what he calls the three tyrants: (1) sin, (2) death, and (3) the devil.2 Luther elaborated: “The rule of sin is broken. The yoke of death is destroyed. The law which condemns has been subdued.”3
We learn a whole lot about the righteous character of the King and kingdom from reading Isaiah 11:
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist…And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious (verses 1-5, 10).
In this passage, the righteous ruler is described puzzlingly as both “a Rod from the stem of Jesse” as well as “a Root of Jesse.” How can the King be at the same time both a progenitor and a descendant? Orthodox Judaism has traditionally interpreted this twofold designation as indicating the postexilic Jewish community. But this interpretation misses the messianic significance embedded within Isaiah’s description. The passage, not only in purposefully identifying an individual king of human descent born out of the line of David’s father, Jesse, but by virtue of its context, notes that the king would also be the progenitor of Jesse. In giving us this supposed conundrum, Isaiah wanted us to understand that this righteous ruler can only be the prophesied Davidic King, for while a man, He also hails from divine and ancient origins.4
In reading about the righteous character of the King in Isaiah 11, expositor Richard Brand beautifully likened Isaiah’s portrayal of the coming of the Holiness of God as if He was “floating airily into one’s room on a springtime breeze to the sounds of the lovely stringed music of Vivaldi.”5 The “Branch” will possess three specific pairs of these beautiful gifts, which are identified as:
- wisdom and understanding
- the Spirit of counsel and might
- the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.6
Brand explained that according to the first pair, the King will possess the practical acumen required to arbitrate political and judicial affairs; according to the second pair, He will possess the qualities for advancing diplomatic negotiations and consolidating military authority; and according to the third pair, He will validate the piety of the ideal king, thereby confirming His status as God’s instrument.7
Godly wisdom, divine counsel, and perfect righteousness—does that sound like the leaders of our governments today? No wonder commentators have described Isaiah’s messianic passage as “brimming with imagery that has shaped the imaginations of Jews and Christians for centuries.”8 For, as Brand so aptly exclaimed, “All of us will be living together in a harmonious whole. This will be the place where all creation lives in peace.”9
Resource
To further learn about what life will be like living in the Millennial Kingdom, pre-order Dr. Nathan Jones’ newest book, The Coming Millennial Kingdom, published by Harvest House Publishers in June 2025!
References
1. Otto Kaiser, Isaiah 1–12 A Commentary, 2d ed., trans. John Bowden (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1981), 55.
2. Carl Umhau Wolf, “Luther on the Christmas Prophecy, Isaiah 9,” Lutheran Quarterly 5, no. 4 (November 1953): 390, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000655348&site=ehost-live.
3. Ibid., 390.
4. Jake Stromberg, “The ‘Root of Jesse’ in Isaiah 11:10: Postexilic Judah, or Postexilic Davidic King?,” Journal of Biblical Literature 127, no. 4 (Wint 2008): 655-657, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001696617&site=ehost-live.
5. Richard C. Brand Jr., “Either Or?,” The Expository Times 116, no. 2 (November 2004): 56, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001548157&site=ehost-live.
6. Christopher M. Leighton and Adam Gregerman, “Between Text & Sermon: Isaiah 11:1-11,” Interpretation 64, no. 3 (July 2010): 284, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001792576&site=ehost-live.
7. Ibid., 284.
8. Ibid., 284.
9. Brand, “Either Or?,” 56.
